Illumina to lay off 10% of research and development team in bid to cut costs by $100 million

SAN DIEGO — Months after announcing plans to cut costs by $100 million, DNA sequencing giant Illumina has begun to lay off 10% of its research and development team, according to internal emails obtained and reviewed by STAT.

The layoffs, which began last Wednesday, impact research teams across the company’s California sites in San Diego and Foster City, as well as locations in Madison, Wisconsin; Singapore; and the United Kingdom. Alex Aravanis, the company’s chief technology officer, noted in an internal message that these cuts affect a tenth of research and development staff. The company’s also planning to shut down all lab-based research and development work in Foster City, according to a note from Steve Barnard, vice president of technology development.

Barnard’s note mentions that all affected employees have already been notified. And a separate message from interim CEO Charles Dadswell makes clear last week’s layoffs won’t be the last.

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